Monika Hertwig, the daughter of Amon Goeth, is the subject of the 2008 PBS documentary film entitled Inheritance. James Moll, the film maker, deliberately used bad lighting to make Monika look like a scary monster when she is actually a beautiful woman, just like her mother Ruth Irene Kalder, a movie actress who was the mistress of Amon Goeth while he was the Commandant of Plaszow, the camp that is shown in the movie Schindler’s List.

Still shot from Inheritance shows the balcony where Amon Goeth allegedly shot prisoners in the Plaszow camp

The most famous scenes in the movie Schindler’s List show Commandant Amon Goeth shooting prisoners in the camp from the balcony of his villa. In the photo above, note the patio doors underneath the balcony. The photo below shows the real life Amon Goeth standing on the patio, not the balcony.

Amon Goeth shown on the patio of his house at the Plaszow camp

Pictures don’t lie. The photo above shows Amon Goeth, caught red-handed, with a rifle in his hand, but he is not standing on a balcony. Note the patio doors in the background.

Did the Commandant of Plaszow really shoot prisoners at random, from his balcony, just for the fun of it? Not unless he had some special kind of rifle that could shoot bullets over a hill.

Ruth Irene Kalder, standing on the patio of the house where she lived with Amon Goeth

Monika’s mother was Ruth Irene Kalder who was Oskar Schindler’s secretary before she became the mistress of Amon Goeth; she was a former movie actress.

The front of Amon Goeth’s house at Plaszow, 1998

In the fall of 1998, I visited the site of the former Plaszow camp and my tour guide took me to see Amon Goeth’s house, which is shown in the photo above. I asked the guide where the camp was located and she said, “You can’t see the camp from here because it is behind a hill.” The guide told me that the house next door, shown in the photo below, was actually used in the film “Schindler’s List” because it was nicer than Goeth’s real house.

House that was used as Goeth’s villa in movie Schindler’s List

The photo below is a still photo from the movie “Schindler’s List.” In the movie, the balcony of Goeth’s house is only a few yards from the camp. Visitors to Goeth’s villa today can see that the house was actually behind a hill and the camp was not visible from the balcony.

Still shot from “Schindler’s List” shows Amon Goeth shooting prisoners from his balcony

The quarry where “Schindler’s List” was filmed was not the actual location of the camp

In the film Schindler’s List, which is a fictional story based on a novel entitled Schindler’s Ark, the villa where Amon Goeth lived is shown being right next to the Plaszow camp when it was actually far away from the camp. The camp was located in a quarry, but not the quarry where Steven Spielberg filmed the movie.

Thomas Keneally, the author of the book Schindler’s Ark, explained in his novel that Amon Goeth was not arrested for shooting prisoners from his balcony because Plaszow was a labor camp at that time and it was not yet under the jurisdiction of the SS Economic Administrative Main Office in Oranienburg, which controlled the concentration camps. A Commandant of a concentration camp was not allowed to shoot prisoners without permission from the Oranienburg office.

Tourists are told that Amon Goeth shot prisoners from the balcony of this house

The house shown in the photo above was the last of three houses where Amon Goeth lived at the Plaszow camp. He did not live in this house when, according to the novel Schindler’s Ark, he shot prisoners from the balcony.

Of course, this is not mentioned in the documentary entitled Inheritance.

In the documentary Inheritance, Monika is shown at the site of the Plaszow camp as she meets Helen Jonas, who was one of the two women prisoners who worked for Amon Goeth in his home.

Helen Jonas on the left talks with Monika Goeth at the former Plaszow camp

Commandant Amon Goeth had two Jewish housemaids who lived in the basement of his villa: Helen Hirsch and Helen Sternlicht. Helen Hirsch is now Helen Horowitz and Helen Sternlicht, who is shown in the photo above, is now Helen Jonas, formerly Helen Rosenzweig. According to a book, entitled Oscar Schinlder, written by David Crowe, Goeth differentiated between the two Helens by calling Helen Hirsch by the nickname Lena and renaming Helen Sternlicht with the name Susanna. In the movie, the two Helens are a composite of the two real life Helens, although both Helens appear together briefly in one scene.

Helen Hirsch moved to Israel after World War II ended, and became part of the close-knit circle of the “Schindler Jews” in Israel who provided the information that became the basis for Thomas Keneally’s novel Schindler’s Ark and Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler’s List.

According to author David Crowe, Helen Hirsch was the older of the two Jewish maids who worked for Goeth. She had originally worked in the camp’s Jewish kitchen and was chosen by her superior, Leon Myer, to work for Goeth. Myer took several weeks to acquaint her with the commandant’s personal likes and dislikes. Initially, Helen lived in a special barracks for Jewish workers, but eventually moved into the maid’s quarters in the cold, damp cellar of Goeth’s villa. Living with Goeth, she said after the war, “was almost like living under the gallows twenty-four hours a day.”

David Crowe wrote that Helen Hirsch Horowitz told Martin Gosch and Howard Koch in 1964 that “insofar as she was concerned, he (Goeth) had made some attempts physically and sexually upon her.” Gosch and Koch decided not to put this in the film script because “she might be accused even today of having acceded to his physical demands in order to preserve her life, and this does not happen to be true.”

The story that is told in the movie about how Amon Goeth chose his housemaid is actually closer to the story of how Helen Sternlicht Jonas was selected by Goeth.

According to David Crowe’s book, the true story is as follows:

When the Germans began the construction of Plaszow in late 1942, Helen Sternlicht’s mother, Lola, and one of her older sisters, Sydel (Sydonia), were sent there to work. As the Krakow ghetto was being liquidated, Helen Sternlicht decided to try to sneak into Plaszow because she did not have the blue Kennkarte which was necessary for identification. Helen had already learned about the death trains to Belzec and was desperate to join her sister and mother at Plaszow. She hid in a milk wagon going to Plaszow but was discovered by the driver just before he arrived at the camp. She managed to escape his grasp and made it into the camp, where she was given a job cleaning barracks. One day while she was cleaning windows, Amon Goeth walked in and said, “I want this girl in my house. If she is smart enough to clean windows in the sunshine, I want her.”

Of course, the documentary does not tell you that Helen Sternlicht Jonas actually sneaked into the Plaszow camp.

When Plaszow was being closed in the fall of 1944, Oskar Schindler requested that Helen Sternlicht and her sister, Anna, be put on the female “Schindler’s List.”

In his book Oskar Schindler, David Crowe wrote that Helen Sternlicht Jonas never mentioned sexual advances toward her from Goeth. The sex scenes in the movie Schindler’s List involved Helen Hirsch.

The following quote is from the book Oskar Schindler, by David Crowe:

Mietek Pemper told me that Goeth, who had liver and kidney problems, was not attracted to women. In fact, he found the idea that Goeth was somehow sexually attracted to Helen Hirsch Horowitz pure “baloney.” She was not, he added, “Miss Krakow or Miss Poland.” Helen Rosenzweig added that Goeth was also a diabetic who drank heavily. He believed firmly in Nazi racial laws and would not have had relations with a Jew. This does not contradict Helen Hirsch’s claim that Goeth tried to sexually abuse her when he was drunk. However, the idea, as depicted in Steven Spielberg’s film, that Goeth was somehow infatuated with Helen Hirsch and even toyed with the idea of kissing her is totally fictitious.

In February 2009, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum did a series of interviews with Holocaust survivors called Voices on Antisemitism. As part of this project, Helen Sternlicht Jonas was interviewed by Aleisa Fishman.

The following quote is the words of Helen Sternlicht Jonas in her interview with Aleisa Fishman:

When I arrived in Camp Plaszow, I was assigned to clean barracks. At the third day, a tall SS walked in the room, and he was Amon Goeth. At the time, I didn’t know who he was. But he looked around and he said to the woman that was in charge of us to send me to his house. And I really didn’t know what a brutal man he is, but he was a madman. He was a madman. He always, from the balcony he watched the camp, and he’s standing with the little machine gun through the window. He said, “You see those dumb heads? They’re standing, doing nothing.” He says, “I’m going to shoot.” And you could hear shooting like hell. And I could hear him whistling a happy tune, like he did so well. And this face with such satisfaction! I can’t forget that. The dreams after so many years he’s chasing me, I’m hiding. Because I lived in constant fear, constant fear, just looking at him. He was barbaric.

So there you have it — actual eye-witness testimony that Amon Goeth shot prisoners, who were behind a hill, from a house in which he didn’t live at that time.

Amon Goeth’s mug shot taken after he was arrested, August 29, 1945

In 1943, SS Judge Dr. Georg Konrad Morgen of the Haupt Amt Gericht (SS-HAG) was given an assignment to investigate and prosecute corruption and unauthorized murder at the Buchenwald concentration camp. His next assignment was to investigate the Plaszow camp. As a result of his investigation, which involved interviewing the prisoners, Amon Goeth was arrested by the Central Office of the SS Judiciary and imprisoned. Goeth was charged with stealing from the warehouses and factories at Plaszow, but not with shooting prisoners from the balcony of his home. There is no evidence whatsoever that Amon Goeth shot prisoners from his balcony, which was not even possible in real life.

After World War II ended, the American military turned Amon Goeth over to the Polish government for prosecution as a war criminal. He was brought before the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland in Krakow. His trial took place between August 27, 1946 and September 5, 1946.

Goeth was charged with being a member of the Nazi party and a member of the Waffen-SS, Hitler’s elite army, both of which had been designated as criminal organizations by the Allies after the war. His crime was that he had taken part in the activities of these two criminal organizations. The crime of being a Nazi applied only to Nazi officials, and Goeth had never held a job as a Nazi official. In fact, at the time of Goeth’s conviction by the Polish court, the judgment against the SS and the Nazi party as criminal organizations had not yet been made by the Nuremberg IMT.

At Goeth’s trial, the Nazi party was characterized as “an organization which, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, through aggressive wars, violence and other crimes, aimed at world domination and establishment of the National-Socialist regime.” Amon Goeth was accused of personally issuing orders to deprive people of freedom, to ill-treat and exterminate individuals and whole groups of people. His crimes, including the newly created crime of genocide, came under a new law of the Allies, called Crimes against Humanity.

The charges against Amon Goeth were as follows:

(1) The accused as commandant of the forced labour camp at Plaszow (Cracow) from 11th February, 1943, till 13th September, 1944, caused the death of about 8,000 inmates by ordering a large number of them to be exterminated.

(2) As a SS-Sturmführer the accused carried out on behalf of SS-Sturmbannführer Willi Haase the final closing down of the Cracow ghetto. This liquidation action which began on 13th March, 1943, deprived of freedom about 10,000 people who had been interned in the camp of Plaszow, and caused the death of about 2,000.

(3) As a SS-Hauptsturmführer the accused carried out on 3rd September, 1943, the closing down of the Tarnow ghetto. As a result of this action an unknown number of people perished, having been killed on the spot in Tarnow; others died through asphyxiation during transport by rail or were exterminated in other camps, in particular at Auschwitz.

(4) Between September, 1943, and 3rd February, 1944, the accused closed down the forced labour camp at Szebnie near Jaslo by ordering the inmates to be murdered on the spot or deported to other camps, thus causing the death of several thousand persons.

(5) Simultaneously with the activities described under (1) to (4) the accused deprived the inmates of valuables, gold and money deposited by them, and appropriated those things. He also stole clothing, furniture and other movable property belonging to displaced or interned people, and sent them to Germany. The value of stolen goods and in particular of valuables reached many million zlotys at the rate of exchange in force at the time.

The last charge, as stated in number (5) above, was the crime for which he had been arrested by the Gestapo on September 13, 1944, after an investigation by Waffen-SS officer Dr. Georg Konrad Morgen. Note that he was not charged with shooting prisoners from his balcony.

At his trial, Goeth’s defense was that he was a Waffen-SS soldier who had to follow the orders of his superiors. He denied killing anyone except when ordered to carry out an execution. He called Helen Hirsch as a defense witness on his behalf.

The photograph below shows Amon Goeth as he was escorted from the courtroom after being sentenced to death. At 6 foot 4 inches tall, Goeth towered over his Polish guards.

Amon Goeth leaves courthouse after being sentenced to death

Amon Goeth was found guilty on all counts. He was hanged in Krakow on September 13, 1946, exactly two years to the day that he left the Plaszow camp after being arrested. The scene of his hanging was filmed and the film clip is included in the documentary “Inheritance.” Goeth’s body was cremated and his ashes were thrown into the Weichsel river.

Holocaust denial is punishable by five years in prison in many European countries. But what about Holocaust exaggeration? For that, you get recognition, millions of dollars, and an Academy Award.

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

109 Comments

As an addendum; I’ve seen this movie. Towards the end this bitch Monika drops her mask and exposes herself for what she really is: a sick, demented anti Semite. No amount of “deliberate bad lighting ” could cover up the black mark on her soul.

Futherglory all you are presenting is your blog for your defense. We are not dumb to be persuaded by your propaganda easily. Why would we believe in your blog.. .I mean everything of it has your own insight…i assume that u are just fabricating something here. To do those who are reading ur articles, i must say that they have to read credible references. They better research to the accounts of the victim..not here. And the thing that he worked with Hilter would mean a thing. I guess the testimonies of the witnesses are enough to codemn him.

You wrote: “Why would we believe in your blog.. .I mean everything of it has your own insight…i assume that u are just fabricating something here.”

That’s what a blog is — one person’s “insight.” If you want “credible references,” read some other person’s blog. I don’t think that “testimonies of the witnesses are enough to condemn” Amon Goeth. You should write your own blog and explain why the witnesses are credible.

Very good article. Although I do believe Amon was guilty of some crimes, I do not believe people should be allowed to make up “facts” just to further their cause.

Ironically, it is quite annoying to see Israelis continue to cover up their atrocities while inventing/exaggerating crimes of their enemies. This makes them worse than the Nazis because no one dares dispute them as it would be too controversial.

The unfiltered truth is hard for most weak-minded to deal with. Thanks for exposing it.

Holocaust denial is punishable by five years in prison in many European countries. But what about Holocaust exaggeration? For that, you get recognition, millions of dollars, and an Academy Award…………………I rarely comment on things but this statement by far is probably the most ASSHOLE IGNORANT SCUMBAG comment/statement whatever I have ever come across. Absolutely disgusting as there is no such thing as holocaust exaggeration, unless you were there yourself, don’t fucking ever say that.

What kind of a moron could possibly make such an inhumane statement? It would be impossible to the nth degree to exaggerate anything about the holocaust…It is also impossible to understand horror these animals inflicted on others…unless you lived (or died) it!

I stumbled across this posting after watching Schindler’s List. My primary disappointment with your piece is that it is, quite simply, terribly written, and the rather tedious, tub thumping, but also slightly hysterical rhetorical style you adopt is rather an unpleasurable medium in which to read about such important things. I appreciate you have every right to write about any subject you choose, but I suggest you embark upon some sort of academic study, and develop your intellectual faculties by applying them to small matters first, before you embark again upon such a rambling and badly analyzed deconstruction of major historical events.

First of all Goeth was a monster, and without doubt an evil murderer of innocents. He deserved to die. However in the recent programme I watched about Monika being his daughter etc. I am personally very disappointed now to discover that Goeth could not have shot into the camp from his villa balcony, as was made out. Such errors unfortunately throw into question all other facts given in the programme, which is a great pity.

How do you explain the fact that his girl friend, Ruth Irene Kalder, stayed with him to the end? She even went with him to the place where he was sent after he was arrested and diagnosed with diabetes. How do you explain the fact that Oscar Schindler remained his friend until the end and even helped him to store some of the goods that Goeth had stolen from the Plaszow camp? How do you explain the fact that Oscar Schindler introduced his secretary, Ruth Irene Kalder, to Goeth so that he could invite her to move in with him as his girl friend?

When a person has diabetes, they can have emotional problems when their blood sugar is not normal. He may have had fits of temper when his blood sugar was too high or too low. But his good friends stayed with him through it all. He was diagnosed with diabetes after he was arrested for stealing from the camp. How do you explain the fact that he was not arrested earlier when he was killing people in the camp?

if he didn’t shoot prisoners from the balcony, as is stated the house is behind a hill, then why is their a photo of Goeth with a rifle on the balcony, i recently went to the house that was used in the film and it is right next to the camp,probably only a few hundred feet, i would of thought this would of been much more easy for access to the camp ? my guide informed me this was the actual house he lived in, i now know this is wrong, but is the house used in the film.

Yes, whoever, as you say, ‘exaggerated’ the horrible crimes against Jews during WWII should get Academy Award! These, so called, exaggerations pale in comparison with what actually happened. If someone will say that 7 mil Jews were killed instead of 6 mil, it is not an exaggeration, because out of these 6 millions another 20 millions would be born…. You will call 7 mil exaggeration, I will call it under estimation…. Just a matter of opinion…. between two very different people.

Bottomline, you posted a great , UNBiased article on a very serious piece if history …you showed neither bias or opinion, you only examined and told the facts in a easy to understand, matter a fact way…and you did not deserve to be INSULTED for doing so.
Come on people …..let’s evolve a little here.

Good post.
I agree with you.
ANY Embellishment in dealing with history of PHENOMENAL IMPORTANCE is not only shameful but disgusting.
I am FLOORED the very scene most remembered by viewers of Schindler’s List the movie, is inaccurate, and so widely accepted as fact.
Tweaking ANY DETAIL on history THIS IMPORTANT; THIS SENSITIVE to people worldwide ……….well it’s very VERY reckless even though I’m sure Spielberg and Co. Had the best intentions, he should’ve made sure EVERY OUNCE of the final script was solid; without a inch of fiction ….The movie was a gorgeous piece of work…but this story, history like THIS, should ALWAYS BE TOLD AND DESCRIBED ONLY WITH FACT. Why all these mad responders?
“What does it matter HOW OR WHERE Goeth killed anyone? He was evil! So who cares?!”
WOW…..that’s some scary dialogue to post under this article.
HISTORY MUST BE RETOLD ACCURATELY.
PERIOD.
yes, it DOES MATTER how a even this serious is portrayed when BILLIONS OF PEOPLE will only ever have THIS MOVIE as their “educator”on the
Holocaust. Most will never read books on this subject ….or do any REAL RESEARCH.
that amounts to THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS ALL AROUND THE WORLD using this ONE PARTICULAR MOVIE as *the* REAL FACTUAL ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED.
And thats a sad thought ….alot of people don’t read, and won’t even go to trouble to research historical events..most automatically believe hollywood movie versions of history as THE FACTS! sad i know.
People that are replyin with such aggression are completely missing the point.
Typical. Thanks for the good read.
we have to TRY to take personal opinions and personal views and LEAVE THOSE OUT when examining very serious history being re-told in ANY WAY.
American Soldiers fight and die for this whole kooky “FREEDOM OF SPEECH” thing.
Stop tarnishing their sacrifice by acting as though I’m SOMEONE SHOULD JUST SHUT UP AND GET THEIR BLOGS DELETED OR REMOVED just because the author is writing things that make you feel__________ Whatever way your feeling, when you type things like “this should be removed! !”
Or “why are you *TAKING UP* for that bad man??!!!”
Or better yet calling the author names? Because the subject matter is difficult for alot to hear about? I swear….reading all these replies (the mad ones,ect) made me lose even more respect for humanity these days!

yeah they should be totally factually accurate in movies, instead of showing that guy on a balcony, they could have included a scene where nazis were throwing jewish babies into a fire, as described in Elie Wiesel’s book “Night”

According to Wikipedia, the bodies of the 8,000 people, who had been killed by Amon Goeth, were exhumed and burned. Quote from Wikipedia: “Many of those who survived the march [from Plaszow to Auschwitz] were killed upon arrival. When the Nazis realized the Soviets were already approaching Kraków, they completely dismantled the [Plaszow] camp, leaving an empty field in its place. The bodies that were buried there earlier in various mass graves were all exhumed and burned on site.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve watched Shindler’s List, but I think that the burning of the bodies was shown in the film.

There might have been some babies thrown alive into the fire. I wouldn’t put it past those Nazi monsters.

This quote is from a kosher website:
Begin Quote:

The camp of Plaszow was originally designed to be a work camp. However, like many other Nazi camps, shortages of food existed, prisoners starved or were worked to death, or summarily shot for no reason. The camp had been opened in December 1942. More than 150,000 civilians were held prisoner in Plaszow.

One use of slave labor was to obliterate all trace of earlier mass murders. At Himmler’s instigation, a series of special units, known collectively as Unit 10051, were forced to dig up the putrefied corpses of those slain, to burn them, and scatter the ashes. This work took nearly two years and involved exhuming more than two million corpses. At Plaszow, in January 1945 a Unit 10051 was forced to exhume 9,000 bodies from 11 mass graves.

Other units, working at different times at the murder sites, were themselves murdered once their work was done. The SS wanted no trace to survive either of their crimes, or of the slave laborers who were being forced to hide them.
End Quote

I don’t remember anyone in this documentary saying that Goeth shot people from his balcony – but what difference does it make where he shot people from? Millions of innocent people were cruelly murdered by the Nazis in World War II, and the evidence of Helena Jonas – and several other survivors – convinces me that Goeth was among the cruellest. Goeth’s daughter bravely accepts this. Why don’t you?

70+ years after Goeth was executed for his crimes, now people want to debate whether he was the monster that eye witnesses described or “a poor misunderstood fellow”. In this article people who lived through his terror are questioned regarding their truthfulness. What gives a person who was not even alive nor anywhere near the area where these crimes were perpetrated the right to question what these witnesses say? How many people died at the camp that Goeth was supposed to be the commander? If one single person died in these camps, the commander of that camp is responsible to their deaths!! BOTTOM LINE: Goeth was a cold, callous murderer who deserved the punishment that he received! I see no reason to debate his guilt or shed a tear for him. Save your tears for those who endured the hell of those camps & their families & YES also the families of the monsters, because they were victims also.

How can you say Goeth wasnt responsible for any murders? He lead the liquidation of the polish ghetto and there are eye witness accounts of his actions there as well as in the labor camp. There are also eye witness accounts of him shooting at workers there for sport. What are you getting out of denying this? And Schindlers story is fiction? That should be news to those whose lives he saved.

Hello. I hope Monika gets to see this. i understand her feeling of guilt, but as a Christian minister let me just say that, before God, everyone stands for their own crime, not for those of their parents. No one blames Monika.

I thank you for your thorough research. I agree with you that documentaries should be factual, no matter who the subject is. Those who responded with vitriol to your reasoned rebuttal of the flawed narrative including murders from a balcony that could not have possibly happened are missing your point entirely. Truthfulness and accuracy are ALWAYS important. The introduction of fabricated events, perhaps to ‘juice up’ a documentary, should properly cause us all to question if its other assertions can be relied on. Your search for truth, and rebuttal of inaccuracies and falsehoods, does NOT make you a holocaust denier. Those who have equated the two should be ashamed of themselves. I would like to ask you about the eyewitness accounts stating that Goeth set his dogs on prisoners to tear them limb from limb. Has your research authenticated them?

There are so many children of criminals who live with the burden of the crimes their parents committed, but my heart goes out to Monika. Every child is a product of both parents and she must feel incredibly burdened by the fact that half of her genes are from him. I always say you are the way you are either “because of” or “in spite of” your parents. In her case, she gets to say that although he has affected her emotionally because of his historic brutality to the Jewish people, she is not like him. She has a choice…And I am a Jew. Monika,stop blaming yourself. I view it as you are the only redeeming thing he ever produced. I am glad you are here…God Bless you…

Kairos, you’re beautiful! “She has a choice…And I am a Jew. Monika,stop blaming yourself. I view it as you are the only redeeming thing he ever produced. I am glad you are here…God Bless you…” Your touching humanity almost made me cry. I only hope Monika will read your lovely remark. I believe it has the power to help heal her pain.

I haven’t seen the documentary or read enough, to be involved in this topic, but I have to say, that this war WAS a war where one was opressed and one the oppressers…It’s quite clear what was going on, and who was committing most of the crimes, in my eyes, there’s no disussion about it…HOWEVER…having expirienced war myself, and also seen my own neighbours whom i’ve known all my life, turn to killers….After many years of anger, sadness and god knows what feelings…I must also say actually, that people are indeed TOO fast in judging others…What I mean by that is, that people say “following orders” is a non-excuse, as if to belittle that reason…Of course, you should be convicted if you were part of the holocoust, no doubt about it, however, people ar every quick to say that “oh, you murdered people, you weren’t ‘just following orders'”, but following orders isn’t a denial and defense..How many people would honestly say, that if Hitler asked you to kill someone, you’d stand up to him and say NO? To the cost of YOUR life, and to the cost of most probably YOUR FAMILY’S LIFE? It’s easy to judge someone, but if Hitler had a gun to my and my familys head, I’d probably rather kill someone I didn’t know, than have my family shot…A LOT of Germans were living under this threat, they were also a sort of victims…There’s not always just black and white…Although, I in no way would dream of defending Hitler or any other who worked beneath him and killed so many human beings…I just think maybe we need to think. Sometimes people still look at gremans as this big clump of monsters, all of them, no matter who what where or why…And that is actually racism!

I truly admire your perseverance in trying to convey the message to all these different types of people with their each and every way of perceiving “the truth”. I admire your passion. And I am thankful for your common sense, it was useful and it did clear up a whole lot of history for me. I too, think that Holocaust Exaggeration ought to be a crime, just like denial is. I’m just wondering whether Monika herself is to pity, or thought of as being abused by the documentary maker. Why not think of her as having had a part in it? Celebrity and Money is not bad of a temptation. I mean her mom did commit suicide, Monica didn’t.
I’ll be following your blog merely for it’s clarity.
Thank you.

oh my gosh dont u get it ? the movie was BASED on a true story look Amon up on wikipedia hes the worst man at that time. Monika doesnt feel sad she knows hes horrible.OK.and furtherglory u just dont get it do u? And Schindler was his “friend” because he wanted to stop him. In the movie he tells him that power is forgiveness. Its wrong but he did thet on purpose so that amon would stop killing.No Dip.IF FURTher glory if uya still dont believe me contact Helen Jonas!!
Amon goeth lover thats what ur r dupid

All i would like to know is do you believe the holocost happened or are you a nazi sympathizer? and before you start on me i am not a jew infact i think what they are doing to the palistinines is disgusting but no one can justify what the nazi’s did. as for why she stayed with him she loved him just as eva braun stayed with and killed herself for hitler . i would hope you will answer the first 2 questions and not try to avoid the question like a politican with some other irrellivent answer.

wow furtherglory person would not accept the crimes of Goeth’s even if he/she will go back in time and see this crimes happening!! : ( WOW NOT EVEN WORTH IT argue with this person,,, so shock still people like this….. ok the balcony story not true YES what about the rest? just give straight responses to specific questions and stop quoting “you wrote” ” you wrote” just answer the F***ing question !!!!! is actually an insult defending this person people died in the most possible cruel salvage way !!!!!!! on my mothers side her great grand mother was never seen again EVER was dragged beaten before the eyes of their young children!!!!!!! by ss soldiers who were just “following orders” i cannot imagine people that had power to send orders to do this to people (sorry my english not good)😦 u must love hitler ha tell us about him he is probably ur hero ! dont even bother replying to me . feel sorry for u

I am sad to hear that your mother’s great grand mother was beaten by SS soldiers before the eyes of her children. These cruel SS solders then allowed the children to live and grow up to have children of their own, who would pass this story down to future generations. If the SS men had not allowed your great great grand mother’s children to live, you would not be alive today and you would not know the truth about how people died in the most cruel, savage way possible in the concentration camps.

This should be fucking removed. Exaggeration of what? 6 million innocent ppl were slaughtered, including children! Why would the survivors single him out as evil? The man was an unforgivable murdering piece of scum and may he rot in hell forever!🙂

Oh and forget the movie, I have read lots of factual accounts of survivors who claimed he was evil and and cruel and a cold blooded murderer, they gained no academy award for such claims! These survivors could have made these claims about any person, why him?

I enjoyed reading this page lots of interesting facts and concepts the only thing that makesme wonder is why the fuss over if he did or didnt shoot from his balcony and hit someone…weknow he killed and he was aweful…why be so passionate about one detail?

How do we know Amon Goeth “killed” and how do we know he was “awful”? We know this from a NOVEL written by a novelist living in Australia who knew nothing about the Holocaust. His novel was turned into a FICTIONAL movie by Steven Spielberg. Based on that, Amon Goeth is now the most evil man who ever lived, second only to Hitler. His daughter now has to suffer because of the stories told by Thomas Keneally and Steven Spielberg. I made a “fuss” over “one detail” because this one LIE stands for all the lies told in the FICTIONAL story of Schindler’s List. These lies are harming living people who are completely innocent.

You can read more about this in three other blog posts that I did on this subject:

I think the term you’re looking for furtherglory is “falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus” which is a legal principle meaning, essentially, if you lie about one part of a story, you should not be believed about any other part of your story. It a standard of legal precedent used in court cases in which a witness, once caught perjuring themselves, has his/her entire testimony disqualified. And I agree, I have no idea who or what Amon Goeth was, but I do think it is completely unfair to to have this man and his progeny equated with the devil because of an obvious lie that has been propagated through a medium(publishing and Motion pictures) that is not required to be held up to the scrutiny of true scientific peer-review or any real legal standard of justice. Other than the testimony of the two Helen’s(which have been proven to be, in some very important aspects, false – and again falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus) I have seen no other real, non-circumstantial or non-hearsay evidence that shows this man was anything like he was portrayed in Keneally or Speilberg’s works.

Let me make it more clear to you why I am making a fuss about this documentary: A film that is called a documentary is supposed to be the TRUTH. In this documentary, Monika Goeth, the daughter of Amon Goeth, is confronted by a woman who worked for Goeth; she tells her that the people who died at the Plaszow camp died because of one man, who was Monika’s father. There were three Commandants of Plaszow and prisoners were brought there specifically for execution. Amon Goeth was responsible for seeing that the executions were carried out; he didn’t order the executions.

Apparently, Monika Goeth initiated the meeting with Helen by writing her a letter. She was trying to be nice to the woman who had worked for her father. Because of her goodness in trying to make amends for what her father had allegedly done, Monika was taken advantage of by the documentary film maker. She was taken to the house where her father DID NOT LIVE when he SHOT PRISONERS WITH A MACHINE GUN from his balcony, according to Helen. This could not have happened because there was a hill between the house and the camp. So, in other words, Helen lied in the documentary. Monika was made to suffer in order for James Moll to make some money off of her pain.

There should be a law against lying or exaggerating about the Holocaust. In a perfect world, James Moll would go to prison for making a so-called documentary that has gross exaggerations and outright lies.

i see your problem lies in the allegations that amon used to shoot prisoners from his balcony, yet you try to downplay his role in the awful crimes he was convicted with, like the liquidation of cracow. you are asking, “How do we know Amon Goeth “killed” and how do we know he was “awful”? We know this from a NOVEL written by a novelist living in Australia who knew nothing about the Holocaust.”
but i listed the sources that list his true and proven crimes you said nothing.
so is it the balcony thing or are you one of those who wants to deny the holocaust at any cost????
we all know that schindler’s list was a movie based on a true story, so drama is needed, but there is enough real life evidence to prove that amon was nothing but a butcher!!!!

I see that your problem is that you don’t understand how the war crimes trials were conducted after World War II. New laws were made by the Allies AFTER the alleged crimes were committed. These new laws applied only to the Germans and their Allies. The most important of these new crimes was called “participating in a common design or common plan to commit war crimes” or “co-responsibility for war crimes.” The war crimes that were prosecuted under this new law were new crimes such as “Crimes Against Humanity.”

Besides the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal and the American Military Tribunal, there were also trials conducted by Great Britain, France, Poland and the Soviet Union. France passed a new law that no French citizen could be tried for war crimes. Some of the Germans were put on trial more than once, by more than one country. Amon Goeth was put on trial in Poland under the “common plan” law which made it a crime to be associated in any way with a place where anyone died, whether from disease, execution or deliberate killing. This applied even to prisoners who were Kapos that helped the Germans in the camps. The defense of following superior orders was not allowed. Amon Goeth had a choice of being shot for disobeying orders or being put on trial as a war criminal for obeying orders, although he didn’t know until after the war that following orders would not be a defense.

Under these new laws, Amon Goeth was responsible for any deaths that occurred that were in any way related to his position as an SS officer. Prisoners who were brought by the Gestapo for execution at the camp where he was the Commandant, even if these prisoners had committed crimes, were counted as murdered. Prisoners who were shot while trying to escape were counted as murdered and the Commandant was responsible for their murder. Under these new laws, it did not have to be proved that the Commandant had PERSONALLY killed anyone. He was guilty by association for any deaths that occurred for any reason while he was in charge of evacuating a ghetto or in charge of a camp, including deaths from disease. He was also a war criminal because he was a member of the SS and a member of the Nazi party because these organizations were convicted of being criminal organizations at the Nuremberg IMT. However, Goeth was convicted of being an SS member and a member of the Nazi party BEFORE the verdict on these organizations was handed down at Nuremberg.

To give you an idea of how these new laws worked, Martin Weiss, one of the Commandants at Dachau, was convicted by the American Military Tribunal of being a war criminal and hanged because he was responsible for all the deaths at Dachau while he was the Commandant, even though he had not personally killed or harmed anyone. In fact, he had improved conditions in the camp. Former prisoners in the camp, who wanted to testify in his behalf, were not allowed to speak at his trial. He was convicted and hanged even though he had not personally done anything wrong whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the American soldiers who had killed German soldiers at Dachau when they surrendered the camp were not prosecuted. The German soldiers were killed with their hands in the air even though it was known that they had been sent directly from the battlefield to surrender the camp and they had nothing to do with the conditions in the camp.

Amon Goeth could have done more good deeds than Oskar Schindler, but he would have been a war criminal just the same because he was the Commandant of a concentration camp, and as such, he was guilty of participating in a common design to commit war crimes.

“Amon Goeth could have done more good deeds than Oskar Schindler”….you are now stating what “could have been” and have strayed from the facts. There are no facts that he did anything but evil. Do not take a painting, paint over it, and then say it was the original painting. You lie in doing that. I understand that you are trying to get at the truth, but don’t try SO hard that you look right past it and find lies. The truth is he was evil. There were many witnesses to that. His mistress killed herself. His daughter deserves to live a life of peace. None of this was her fault. But you need to stop glossing over the truth with your “hopes” for a better past that didn’t actually happen. Stop it.

Goeth’s mistress killed herself after she saw another documentary in which she herself had given an interview. She killed herself because the documentary twisted the facts, just as this new documentary does. If Amon Goeth was so evil, why did Oscar Schindler introduce his own secretary (Monica’s mother) to him? Why did Monica’s mother stay with Goeth to the very end? Why did Schindler remain friends with Goeth to the end?

Was it evil when Goeth took bribes from the Jews and then sent them to a concentration camp instead of sending them to a death camp. He saved many Jews from being sent to Belzac, one of the death camps, when he was in charge of closing down several ghettos.

The maker of this documentary is evil because he tells the story of Amon Goeth shooting prisoners from a balcony, which is a lie. He knows that this didn’t happen, but he promotes this lie in his documentary in order to make money. Monica should sue him for defamation of her father.

actually Kalder killed herself the day after she gave the interview, not after she saw the interview in the documentary, just one of those little facts you seemed so intent on getting right thought i’d point out to you.

An SS officer in charge of one of the biggest Nazi concentration camps : “was convicted and hanged even though he had not personally done anything wrong whatsoever. ” – LOL, man, look at the absurdity of this, I’m sure he was innocent like the virgin mary.

And yet another thing,
“Meanwhile, the American soldiers who had killed German soldiers at Dachau when they surrendered the camp were not prosecuted. The German soldiers were killed with their hands in the air even though it was known that they had been sent directly from the battlefield to surrender the camp and they had nothing to do with the conditions in the camp. ”
How do you compare shooting SS SOLDIERS and SS CONCENTRATION CAMP WARDS (in a number of 560) to over 30 000 starving CIVILLIAN PRISONERS, and almost 6000 BODIES OF CIVILLIANS, including women and children MURDERED which those “bastards” allies found when liberating camp Dachau? Can you even imagine a sight like that? Are you surprised they shot those SS soldiers and, especially the wards after what they had discovered there? Are you really?

There were 31,000 prisoners at Dachau when the camp was liberated because prisoners had been brought to the main camp from the sub-camps, only weeks or days before the liberation. According to Holocaust Believers, the prisoners had been brought to the main camp in order to kill them. The true story is that the prisoners were brought to the main camp so that they could be turned over to the Americans in an orderly manner. Before the prisoners from the sub-camps were brought to the main camp, there were around 15,000 prisoners at Dachau.

The prisoners were not starving. In the last days of the war, America was bombing the railroads and food could not get to some of the camps; Dachau was the only camp in Germany where Red Cross Trucks could get to. Five Red Cross trucks had arrived just the day before. In addition there was a large food warehouse in the SS garrison right next to the camp. The only problem was that the Dachau camp had been bombed 20 days before the camp was liberated, and the food had to be cooked over wood burning stoves. The camp had run out of coal, and there was no running water because of the American bombing of the camp.

The bodies that the liberators found in the camp were the bodies of prisoners who had died of typhus. Prisoners continued to die after the camp was liberated; it took about a month to bring the typhus epidemic under control. The liberators did not find bodies of women and children that had been MURDERED.

The SS soldiers were lined up and shot BEFORE the liberators got to the concentration camp. The shooting took place in the SS garrison, not inside the concentration camp. The reason given for the shooting of the SS men is that the liberators had found a train parked outside the camp, loaded with dead bodies. These prisoners had been killed when the train was strafed by American planes.

No, I am not surprised that American soldiers shot the SS soldiers and especially the wounded Wehrmacht soldiers in the hospital. It’s an old American tradition to shoot first and ask questions later.

“It’s an old American tradition to shoot first and ask questions later.” it is true, and I am not defending American army, I am acctually very far from that, as this is one of those armies that probably committed most crimes, but after WWII.
And there were 30 000 prisoners in Dachau, PLUS another 30 000 in sub-camps, unfortunately, you are wrong, together it was over 60 000 prisoners. And it is true that there were new transports in big numbers of new prisoners to Dachau, but not from sub camps, they were from concentration camps in Poland, because the Nazi officers knew what crime they did and tried to systematically destroy the camps(killing prisoners at first, but they could not bury them or burn their bodies fast enough, so they transported them West, in hope to keep up with destoying all the evidence and witnesses-killing all the people-there, fortunately, they overestimated their military power to keep their positions in Germany, thank God, and ended up being cought red-handed)

The 6 000 bodies found by American army (you are saying of people dying of typhus) were acctually bodies of prisoners MURDERED, because they died of starvation, experiments, typhus, gas chamber, and shooting, there are witnesses for that whom I met personally.
The prisoners WERE starved, regularly, since ca. 1943, before the problems with the supplies caused by American bombing.
Like I said, I met Poles liberated from Dachau, their memories are more credible than anything else, but if you have doubts- the medical condition of those liberated was a proof that it was a long lasting and slow starvation.

And what about the barbaric experiments on prisoners in Dachau and Auschwitz?? You think ANY doctor can have ANY excuse for what those para-scientists did to those people? Will you defend THEM as well??

“Martin Weiss, one of the Commandants at Dachau, was convicted by the American Military Tribunal of being a war criminal and hanged because he was responsible for all the deaths at Dachau while he was the Commandant, even though he had not personally killed or harmed anyone.”
Nice try to manipulate the facts, the truth is that his “improvement of the conditions in the camp” was a direct consequence of the SS main economist, Oswald Pohl, order to increase the productivity of workers from the camp. The prohibition of regular beatings ordered by Weiss were only aimed at increasing the prisoners physical abilities to work. While Weiss was a in command of the Majdanek concentration camp, he was no less cruel than other commanders, quite on the contrary, the numer of executions was acctually raised under his command.

The defendants in the trials of the American Military Tribunal were only charged with crimes against the Allies. Crimes committed at Majdanek against citizens of countries that were not Allies with America were not prosecuted by the AMT. America had no authority to prosecute Weiss for executions at Majdanek because Majdanek was not liberated by Americans. Crimes committed at Majdanek were prosecuted by the Soviet Union before the end of the war and by Poland after the war, but Weiss was dead by that time.

The prohibition of beatings was ordered by Heinrich Himmler, not by Weiss. Weiss ordered the prohibition of the “tree-hanging” punishment at Dachau before it was prohibited in all the camps.

The basis for the trials of the American Military Tribunal was that the German war criminals had participated in a “common design” to commit war crimes. The prosecution had only to prove that the accused had participated in a common plan by virtue of his position on the staff of a concentration camp, whether or not he had personally committed any crimes. The accused in the “Dachau trials” were not charged with committing any specific crime, but rather with aiding and abetting the commission of crimes in the concentration camp system which was designated by the Allies to be a criminal enterprise.

When Weiss was convicted by the AMT, one of the prominent prisoners (Arthur Haulot) in the camp asked to speak on his behalf, but this was denied.

One man on his behalf, out of 30 000 at the moment of liberation. And above everything else: so what that they had not tried him for his doings in Majdanek, he was guilty of that, if he got to be prosecuted for that he would be hanged anyway, no-one had doubts about it. If he was not caught by American, he would be by Russians, the end would be the same, and not because Polish government likes to kill people but because he was guilty. What is the difference then?? He should be convicted, he was guilty of unhuman behaviours. Your problem with the law after the genocide the Nazis were responsible for, does not change the fact he was a commander of all those camps by no accident, and should be convicted.
One another thing, I am very curious what is your purpose of trying to prove the accusation of being a part of the “common design” is not enough to find someone guilty? It suggests that you believe that to murder some ethnicities(Jews especially, but next on Nazi’s list there were also Gypsies, homosexual people, people mentaly ill, and people with physical disabilities), and others make slave labourers(like they tried to do with Poles and planned to do with other nations) is not a crime? Or you say there was no such plan?
For the latter I assure you there was, that’s what they started in Poland. I don’t know where are you from, what souces are the basis of your opinions, but here people Know (not read about, but REMEMBER) that there was such plan, and it was consequently introduced in our coutry, and all those involved deserve punishment, for this plan on all it’s stages involved most hidious crimes.

You wrote: “One another thing, I am very curious what is your purpose of trying to prove the accusation of being a part of the “common design” is not enough to find someone guilty?”

The concept of “common design” was NOT a legal term at the time that the alleged crimes were committed. This was a new legal concept that was made up AFTER World War II ended. Trials should be conducted on the basis of laws that were in effect when the crime was committed.

It was not against German law to set up and maintain a concentration camp. America also had concentration camps, although they were called “internment camps.” Putting American citizens in internment camps was a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the American Constitution. If Germany had won the war, every person in American who had any connection with the internment camps could have been prosecuted as a war criminal.

One other thing: There was no defense against the new “common design” legal concept. In addition, the German “war criminals” were presumed guilty before they were put on trial. In a normal trial, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Martin Weiss was NOT proven guilty.

Arthur Haulot was a prominent member of the International Committee of Dachau. He had more influence than the 31,000 prisoners in the camp, and especially more influence than the 15,000 prisoners who had only arrived at Dachau two weeks before the camp was liberated. He was not allowed to speak in defense of Martin Weiss at the trial.

“It was not against German law to set up and maintain a concentration camp.”- but it WAS against Polish law to kidnap on a massive scale Polish civillian citizens, torture them, and transfer them to concentration camps in Germany-like Dachau, do you know that over 1/3 of all prisoners in Dachau were Poles, who were allies with British forces and therefore also with Americans, though because of occupation it was through the Polish Underground Army and Polish Emmigrant Government wich was the legal Polish Government during WWII and they were valid regulations between our coutries before post-war Soviet influences in Poland.

btw, I would like to remark that you often write Germans instead of German Nazis and that is a big difference, you should regognize the fact that not all German people were acctually Nazis but the country was governed by such, and the high rank officers unfortunately, no matter how much respect one may have for the army, were also NAZIS, even if not all were murderers in their hearts, they became ones in their deeds, being in command of a unit, one takes responsibility for it, and they made their choice so they met their end, which was ONLY a consequence of their own previous decisions.

Saying things like “it was not against German law” you don’t defend them, you only make of them complete idiots, which they were not, it is like to say “the law does not forbid killing all bank managers over 180 cm height, so the commander says: let’s catch them all, gather in cages, starve, beat and kill them, we don’t like them, they cause the world crisis, and how they look down on us! the world will be so much better without them, and the officers do it- I know there is a law against genocide now, but this is a similar situation, the officers were not simple uneducated people, they SHOULD know that it is not right to exterminate Any groups of people, but their decision, weather motivated by belief or by fear, led them to the fate they met, the scale of the cruelty was so big, that they could not expect anything else, and they didn’t which shows the fact that So many of them tried or did run away.

It is also inappropriate to say that American intern camps were the same as NAZI concentration camps- even if you call them concentration camps, it will not make them being killing machines like the Nazi camps were, people in American intern camps were kept there with the violation of their basic law-freedom, but even when they were ill-treated, even if it was illegal in fact, even if they lost their dignity, and some of them health, or life, as some did, in American intern camps death happened but was not the primary goal- NAzi camps were massive tortures, para-medical experiments on the living, and mass murders of millions of people, you can’t argue with that.

The world should never pity those officers you so feverishly try to defend(I thought you are just ill-informed, but now it starts to be REALLY disturbing why you do it), if I was to be in command of a machine that tortures and kills thousands of innocent people in front of my eyes, I would rather die myself, and I am not an army officer, and they’re supposed to have much more honour than the civillians, those German officers who had, decided not to follow the first Nazi orders and they died, and those are the only ones deserving respect.

You wrote: “… do you know that over 1/3 of all prisoners in Dachau were Poles, who were allies with British forces and therefore also with Americans,”

Yes, I know that over 1/3 of the prisoners at Dachau were Poles. But were they innocent Polish citizens who were brought to Dachau for no reason? No, they were captured Resistance fighters, who were fighting illegally in violation of the Geneva convention. Dachau was mainly a camp for “political prisoners,” meaning that they were men who were “enemies of the German government.” Dachau was first set up as a camp for Communists who were trying to over throw the German government.

By pointing out that the Poles were “allies with British forces and with Americans,” you are admitting that these prisoners were fighting alongside the Allies in a war. They were not innocent people, who were minding their own business, who were pulled out of their homes and taken to Germany where they were put into a concentration camp.

Keep in mind that German citizens were kidnapped by Americans and brought to the internment camps in America, which was a total violation of International Law. Arresting Polish Resistance fighters, who were illegal combatants, and putting them into camps was not against the Geneva Convention.

Writing: “Yes, I know that over 1/3 of the prisoners at Dachau were Poles. But were they innocent Polish citizens who were brought to Dachau for no reason? No, they were captured Resistance fighters, who were fighting illegally in violation of the Geneva convention. ” you only prove how you know NOTHING of the history of WWII and the German occupation of Poland, sorry, but it is hard to disscuss those matters with someone, who has NO idea of the state of affairs in Poland during the WWII and wants at the same time to pose judgements about the crimes commited by NAzis on the citizens of Poland. Have I told you, that I AM Polish, and my family lived through those times? Have you ANY idea that the occupation of Poland was not like German ocuupation in ANY other country, especially in Western Europe, and life of Polish citizens during the war was DRASTICALLY different from the life of the Germans, the French? Have you any idea how much saying those words you have offended me along with all other children and grandchildren of those who survived the horror that German Nazis brought to my country?
My answer is: YES, they were innocent citizens who were brought there by the only reason: NO REASON, you know how Nazi army selected Poles for camps? Two or four trucks (on both sides of a street, any street, any time), soldiers come out with machine guns and dogs and take ALL the people, on the street, from the buildings on this street (the so-called “łapanka”, a method designed to make Poles afraid at all occasions), the old, and small children, or those who were resisting shot dead on spot, rest to the camp, if you find it a reason, GOD bless you, you need it.
For your information, caught resistance-movement soldiers(Polish Underground Army) were mostly, after tortures, pretty fast executed.

Btw. “fighting illegally”- are you insane? we were fighting against the occupyig army and under commands of our LEGAL government on exile.

You wrote: “By pointing out that the Poles were “allies with British forces and with Americans,” you are admitting that these prisoners were fighting alongside the Allies in a war. They were not innocent people, who were minding their own business, who were pulled out of their homes and taken to Germany where they were put into a concentration camp”.- No, man, by pointing out that poles were allies with the British I adressed this part of your argument:
” Crimes committed at Majdanek against citizens of countries that were not Allies with America were not prosecuted by the AMT.”- at Majdanek crimes were mostly on Polish citizens, and I was drawing your attention at the fact that Poland Was allied with America, so they could prosecute him for that, they didn’t, because they chose a different scenarion for the prosecution, but they could. As far as the rest of your sentence, about how Poles taken to Dachau deserved to die in your opinion, check out the first part of my comment, I will not repeat myself, it costs me to much to write about what happened to my people, including my own family.

You wrote: Btw. “fighting illegally”- are you insane? we were fighting against the occupyig army and under commands of our LEGAL government on exile.”

Germany has been an occupied country since 1945. Have the Germans ever fought against the “occupying army”? If they did ever fight against the occupying army, what would happen to them? Would they be treated as legal combatants and put into a POW camp with all the rights of a POW under the Geneva Convention? No, they would not.

After the war, the Germans were rounded up and put into “war crimes enclosures” where they were treated worse than the concentration camp prisoners ever were. The Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen camps were all turned into prison camps for the Germans. The Allies didn’t wait for the Germans to attempt to fight against the occupation, they were put into camps so that they couldn’t fight as illegal combatants against the occupation.

Keep in mind that these camps were set up for Germans who were put into these prisons BEFORE they ever did anything. That was not the case for the Polish citizens who were put into camps AFTER they became Resistance fighters.

You wrote: ” Crimes committed at Majdanek against citizens of countries that were not Allies with America were not prosecuted by the AMT.”- at Majdanek crimes were mostly on Polish citizens, and I was drawing your attention at the fact that Poland Was allied with America, so they could prosecute him for that, they didn’t, because they chose a different scenarion for the prosecution, but they could.”

The American Military Tribunal had jurisdiction ONLY over men who staffed the concentration camps which American soldiers had liberated. These camps include Dachau, Buchenwald and Mauthausen. The AMT had no jurisdiction over the men who were on the staff of the Majdanek camp because Majdanek was liberated by the Soviet Union. The crimes committed by Martin Weiss at Majdanek could only be prosecuted by the Soviets. Weiss was convicted of crimes committed at Dachau before he could be put on trial by the Soviets. It had nothing to do with the nationality of the prisoners in the Majdanek camp.

IN ADDITION to prosecuting the Germans for committing crimes against the prisoners in the camps liberated by the Americans, the AMT could also prosecute Germans who had committed crimes against Americans or their allies. For example, the AMT prosecuted Germans who had any association whatsoever with executing Soviet Commissars. The order to execute Soviet Commissars was given by Hitler, but anyone who was there at the time of the executions was guilty of a war crime, under the new rules set by the AMT. You can read about this at http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapbook/DachauTrials/WilhelmRuppert.html

You wrote: “Keep in mind that these camps were set up for Germans who were put into these prisons BEFORE they ever did anything. That was not the case for the Polish citizens who were put into camps AFTER they became Resistance fighters.” again and again you repeat, that Polish citizens DID something that lead them to be put in concentration camps, are blind??? STOP repeating this bull and blasphemy!!! read my post and don’t even try to write about things you have no idea about!!!

So I will repeat to you :
Polish people (icluding Polish Jews) in Nazi concentration camps were innocent citizens who were brought there by the only reason: NO REASON, you know how Nazi army selected Poles for camps? Two or four trucks (on both sides of a street, any street, any time), soldiers come out with machine guns and dogs and take ALL the people, on the street, from the buildings on this street (the so-called “łapanka”, a method designed to make Poles afraid at all occasions), the old, and small children, or those who were resisting shot dead on spot, rest to the camp, if you find it a reason, GOD bless you, you need it.
For your information, caught resistance-movement soldiers(Polish Underground Army) were mostly, after tortures, pretty fast executed.

Occupation of germany had NEVER been even close to the HORROR of the occupation of Poland by German Nazis, check the numbers of CIVILLIANS who died in the time of the post-war occupation of Germany and WWII occupation of Poland!

And THIS :”After the war, the Germans were rounded up and put into “war crimes enclosures” where they were treated worse than the concentration camp prisoners ever were.” – THIS is ABSUUUUURD!!! Give me the number of german civillians who died there? hem?? Saying they were treated worse than in any concentration camp is a BIG FAT UGLY LIE.

“On 13th March, 1943, the final liquidation of the Cracow ghetto took place, personally supervised by SS Sturmbannführer Willi Haase and carried out by the accused Amon Goeth with the assistance of Kunde, Heinrich and Neumann, the Security Police experts on Jewish affairs. Wholesale murders were then committed on the spot. The total number of Jews murdered on this occasion reached about 4,000, among which were many women and children. Amon Goeth himself shot many people. The rest, over 10,000 able-bodied people, were accommodated in the Plaszow forced labour camp.”

“on 13 March 1943, the Jewish ghetto of Kraków was closed down with the surviving inhabitants imprisoned in the new slave labor camp. Approximately 2,000 people died during the evacuation. At his later war crimes trial, it was revealed that Göth had personally killed many slave laborers during the action.”

“On March 13-March 14, 1943 the final ‘liquidation’ of the ghetto was carried out under the command of SS-Untersturmführer Amon Göth. Eight thousand Jews deemed able to work were transported to the Plaszow labor camp. Those deemed unfit for work – some 2,000 Jews – were killed in the streets of the ghetto on those days. Any remaining were sent to Auschwitz.[2]”

“During these selections the Germans massacred hundreds people, the ghetto streets were soaked in the blood of their victims. The Germans executed hospital patients, the old, as well as children from the orphanage that was situated in the ghetto. The Optima factory saw the isolation of hundreds of Jews in extreme heat without food or water before their subsequent deportation to the death camps.

The ultimate liquidation of the ghetto took place on 13th and 14th March 1943. Around 4,000 people who were considered fit for work were taken to the Plaszow camp, whereas the elderly, the weak and children were shot on the spot, approximately 2,000 people were killed this way. The remainder, a figure in the region of 2,000, were taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau.”

Thank you. I think what this person is doing is deplorable. Pointless. These evil men are dead and have been dead for years. What is the point of trying to portray them as falsely accused? Let the Jews have their say, whatever it is, whatever they want to say, because it can do no harm. Germany is a respectable country again. This woman whose father was evil is living not with the fact that she is his child, but that her mother was wicked enough to abuse her verbally. As for the movie Schindler’s List, we all know it was BASED on actual events, making it fiction, but we also know there were ACTUAL EVENTS, and we cannot forget that! This person dishonors their loss!

The point of the post that you have been commenting on is that the daughter of Amon Goeth is being attacked by a film that tells lies about her father. How many generations will have to suffer because of lies told in films?

She was not being attacked. She herself said she doesn’t like the children of any of the perpetrators. This film was documented in her words. She was not shown as a monster, but rather a very sensitive woman. I agree that she should not pay for the price of a man she never knew, but in her own words she states that although she cannot change the past, she can create a better future. How is this portraying her as a monster? As for Goeth, nobody in the film “Inheritance” claimed in the camp from his balcony, but rather that he shot people walking TO the camps. I agree that it is unlikely that this actually happened, but you are treading on VERY THIN ICE with your claims. You sound like a sympathizer to the Nazi agenda, and that is not good. Is it so bad that a man who was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people (as well as an entire political party) be characterized, even fictionalized, in a film as a monster? Even a film that was well advertised as “fiction”? He was as selfish, evil man who deserved to die along with any and all SS men and women who took the innocent life of even ONE JEW. I don’t believe that a single SS Nazi died unjustly after the war. More than 6 millions Jews were killed in WWII. That didn’t happen in a battle where they were able to defend themselves. You mock their death with your pointless inquiries. I suggest you search for a more meaningful goal in life.

did the american camps enslave the prisoners and forced the to work for big industries for nothing?? did they starve the prisoners??? did they beat them up and sent “unfit” individuals for executions???? did the camps hold children who were exposed to medical testing like lab animals???
of course when amon worked as a camp commandant he didnt know that what he was doing was illegal, coz it was legal in germany at the time to be a racist, in fact it was a matter of national pride to hate non-arians and to treat them as animals coz they belonged to a lower race/ species!!!!
what he was doing was legal by nazi standards, but illegal by international laws, the geneva convention, and all human standards possible.
if amon wasnt aware that what he was doing was immoral, then he was a party to the crime.
and dont tell me he didnt know where he was sending the people he deemed as unfit in his camp and loaded them on trains. he knew so well where they were going and what their destination entailed.
he was part of the cruel machine that was designed and operated to exterminate races deemed unworthy!!!!

You wrote: “what he was doing was legal by nazi standards, but illegal by international laws, the geneva convention”

There was no international law regarding concentration camps at that time. International law was created by the trials conducted by the Allies after the war. The Geneva Convention pertained only to Prisoners of War from countries which had signed the Convention. There were no POWs at the Plaszow camp.

You wrote: “he didnt know where he was sending the people he deemed as unfit in his camp and loaded them on trains. he knew so well where they were going and what their destination entailed.”

Amon Goeth’s job did not involve selecting Jews to be sent to a death camp.He took bribes from the prisoners who were selected to be sent from the ghettos to Belzec and sent them instead to Plaszow which was not a death camp.

American internment camps were against American law. The people who were interned here were selected on the basis of race or ethnicity. German citizens living in South America were kidnapped and brought to America to be interned in a camp.

If Amon Goeth was as bad as you say he was, why did his mistress stay with him until the bitter end? His mistress was introduced to him by Oscar Schindler, who remained friends with Amon until the end. Why would Schindler introduce his secretary to a man who was shooting prisoners at random from his balcony? Why didn’t his mistress just walk out the door and leave Amon while he was busy murdering people out on the balcony?

Amon Goeth’s crime was that he was stealing from the warehouses at the Plaszow camp and taking bribes from the prisoners. That’s why he was arrested by Dr. Konrad Morgen. Schindler was arrested at the same time because he was helping Amon to store the stolen goods. Schindler was as much a criminal as Goeth, but he took a bunch of Jews with him when he moved back to his home town in Moravia because he needed the Jews to put in a good word for him. Otherwise, Schindler would have been convicted as a war criminal because he was a member of the Nazi party and he was in charge of a sub-camp of Plaszow.

you have a point about war crimes committed by allies. like the massacre of polish officers committed by the red army.
but lets face it: going out targeting an ethnic group, enslaving them and confiscating all their properties, then forcing them to live in inhumane conditions and treating them like criminals. forcing them to perform hard labour and if they couldnt you send them to gas chambers where you would put them down the way you deal with a draft horse once it gets old or injures a limb. do the same to all the children coz they dont perform enough work to feed them. same goes to the elderly.
anyone involved in organising, overseeing or carrying out such a crime had to be convicted of mass murder.

You wrote: “anyone involved in organising, overseeing or carrying out such a crime had to be convicted of mass murder.”

This is the “common plan” theory of guilt, which was an ex post facto law that was made up by the Allies after the war. Amon Goeth didn’t know that it was a war crime to be involved with the concentration camps at the time that he worked in one of the camps. Besides that, Plaszow was not a “death camp.” There was no gas chamber at Plaszow.

America had internment camps for Japanese-Americans and German-Americans during the war. Was everyone who was associated with these camps a war criminal? Setting up these camps was a violation of the Bill of Rights of the American Constitution. Was Roosevelt a war criminal for doing this? German-Americans were kept in internment camps for two years after the war was over.

It is no secret that during all sorts of wars there are multiple examples of ill-treatment of the people involved,ussually on both sides of the conflict, but DO YOU TRY TO COMPARE AMERICAN INTERN CAMPS WITH NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS??? either you are crazy, or YOU NOW NOTHING and better stop writing in the iternetr, or at all, cause sorry, but are making an idiot of yourself, in front of the whole world.

Amon was convicted of being a member of the Nazi party and a member of the SS, which was a volunteer Army. The Allies made a law that all members of the Nazi party and the SS were automatically guilty, even if they had done nothing wrong. Amon was guilty of the deaths of the prisoners in the camp, even if they died of disease. He was guilty of the murder of prisoners who were executed even if there was a reason that they were legally executed. He was a war criminal because he was on the losing side in a war. None of the soldiers in the Armies of the Allies were ever put on trial, no matter what they did during the war. The winners are never war criminals.

ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT AMON GOETH WAS NOT A MURDERER??? WELL, HE DIDNT KILL PEOPLE FROM HIS BALCONY, BUT WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT????

(4) Between September, 1943, and 3rd February, 1944, the accused closed down the forced labour camp at Szebnie near Jaslo by ordering the inmates to be murdered on the spot or deported to other camps, thus causing the death of several thousand persons.

Amon Goeth did not have the authority to order prisoners of a labor camp to be murdered on the spot. Keep in mind that Goeth had been arrested by Dr. Georg Konrad Morgen, the SS judge who investigated him. He was arrested because he took property from the inmates as bribes to keep them off the list of prisoners to be sent to a death camp. Schindler was arrested at the same time by the SS judge because he was hiding the property taken by Goeth. Goeth was not arrested by Dr. Morgen on a charge of murdering prisoners, which seems to indicate that he did not murder prisoners of a labor camp on the spot. You can read about the trial of Amon Goeth here: http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/goeth.htm

Goeth’s defense was that he was following orders and he did not kill anyone except when he was ordered to execute a prisoner. The trials of the German war criminals did not allow the defense of following orders, but that changed after the trials and now anyone in the military can use the defense of following orders.

so you actually believe that Dr. Morgen, the SS judge would have actually arrested amon on charges of murdering jewish prisoners!!! you actually believe that a nazi would ever try another for this kind of crime???

Yes, I actually believe that a Nazi would try another Nazi for murder because this actually happened. Dr. Morgen testified at Nuremberg that he had investigated around 800 cases which resulted in 200 trials.

Dr. Morgen put 5 concentration camp commandants on trial in his court and two of them were executed after they were convicted of murder. Karl Otto Koch, the commandant of Buchenwald, was executed for ordering the murder of two hospital orderlies who had treated him for syphilis because he wanted to keep it secret that he had syphilis. Hermann Florstedt, the Commandant of Majdanek, was also executed for murder after he was convicted in Dr. Morgen’s court. Alex Piorkowski, a Commandant of Dachau, was put on trial for murder but not convicted. Hans Loritz, a Commandant at Oranienburg was put on trial for murder, but was not convicted in Morgen’s court.

Adam Grünewald, the Commandant of Hertogenbosch, was convicted of maltreatment of prisoners and sent to a penal unit.
Karl Kuenstler, a Commandant of Flossenbürg concentration camp, was fired from his job for drunkenness and debauchery.

There were two prisons (penal units) for SS men; one of them was at Dachau. There were 128 SS men in the penal unit at Dachau when the camp was liberated.

Maximilian Grabner, the head of Political Section in Auschwitz, was accused of murdering 2,000 prisoners; he was tried in Dr. Morgan’s court, but was not convicted. Hermann Hackmann, an SS man at Majdanek, was convicted and condemned to death for murder but was eventually sent to a penal unit.

Stop with this bullcrap! Amon was a killer, and I dont care if he killed from his house or from a hill! Do you even hear your self as you go on, and on with this shit? Is Amon a better man for not killing inside of his house? NO.. as you said, he maybe didnt get clear sight from there…. You are a just are pathetic, as Amon was…

The movie is FICTIONAL!!! It is based on a novel called “Schindler’s Ark” which was written by Thomas Keneally. The movie “Schindler’s List” is NOT a documentary. There are many scenes in the movie which are not true. For example, in the movie, Amon Goeth pardons his 14-year-old groom when his work performance does not meet his standards, but then shoots him in the back with a high-powered rifle.

The groom for Goeth’s horse was 14-year-old Irwin Gotfried, who survived the Holocaust. After the war, Gotfried emigrated to the San Francisco bay area where he lived in a community that included 2,000 other Holocaust survivors.

In real life, Gotfried was not shot. He lived to become president of AGI Shower Door and Mirror Co. in Redwood City. I’m not sure, but I think he is still alive.

The fact is: No matter how nice a guy Amon might have been, he was a cold blooded murderer. Manson was said to be charming. Bundy was extremely charismatic and Eichman threw lavish parties. Guess what?! THey are still murderers, deranged plain and simple. While you can’t hold the guilt of the parents to the child, there is the possibility of the child coming to terms with what their parents do. Eichman’s youngest spoke out many times against his father’s activities. But at least he acknowledged them.

Amon Göth may have been a “cold blooded murderer” under the “common plan” theory of collective guilt which was used by the Allies to prosecute the Nazis, but there is no proof that he personally killed anyone, and he was not charged with that, nor convicted on such a charge. The scenes in Schindler’s List, which are based on a novel, are fictional.

Go to Cracow area and I guarantee you will be surprised how many eye-witnesses, or their stories (told to their children and grandchildren) of criminal activity of Goeth you may find, do you need more proof? Please don’t repeat that there is no proof, knowing what things acctually happened in Nazi camps and in whole Easter Europe during Nazi occupation, saying that there is no proof of a guilt of a commander of one of those camps is just ABSURD.

Well, you seem to want to get at the straight facts of the matter, as is your right; but after the war, wasn’t it logical that no one would care to defend the Nazis, seeing as how they had started the war? Isn’t ‘the truth’ the first victim of the war? My point is, no one then cared to say anything for the Nazi’s case, even for the historical record.

There were a few people who spoke out for the Nazi’s case after the war. For example, John F. Kennedy who spoke out on his own and also wrote a chapter in his book “Profiles in Courage,” about Robert A. Taft’s defense of the Nazi’s case at the Nuremberg IMT. You can read this chapter of Kennedy’s book at this web site: http://www.jfkmontreal.com/profiles_in_courage.htm

General George Patton spoke out in defense of the Nazis and paid for it with his life.

Pat Buchanan spoke out for the German case in a recent book, “Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War.” He explains in great detail that it was the British that started World War II, not Germany.

Making a documentary about a woman and claiming that her father shot people for fun, from his balcony, when there is no evidence of this whatsoever, is more than a “minor embellishment.” James Moll took advantage of Monika and ruined her life even further by promoting lies that are easily disproved. Monika’s mother killed herself after another documentary was made about Amon Goeth. If Amon Goeth was such a monster, why did Oskar Schindler remain friends with him to the end and even help him stash the stuff that he stole from the camp warehouses. Schindler was arrested, right along with Goeth, but both of them were released. Goeth was sent to a hospital because he was suffering from diabetes.

I have been trying to find a copy of that original film that was made of Amon Goeths mistress Monika’s mother. I remember seeing it years ago on television but have been trying to track it down for a copy. Can anyone help me please in obtaining a copy I would very much like to see it again. It will be interesting as it was made many years prior to Schindler.
Can anybody help please

You have to be one of the biggest idiots ever to be set up a blog. I mean seriously all you have done is repeat the same bollocks about a balcony overlooking the fact that whether he held the gun himself or just agreed to letting people be murdered – he let people be murdered. If you don’t think that’s a monster, if you think that it’s okay to defend the someone responsible for one of the worst camps there where, then you’re as must as a monster and nazi sympathiser as he was. You are a complete idiot. I shall expect yet another copy and pasted version of teh same answer you’ve given every reply. That’s the problem with people who make all of their claims based on what they find on the web, it’s not actually reality. Dick.

I don’t understand your comment. You are replying to Paul, but you seem to be addressing the owner of this blog. You added “Dick.” Is that your name, or are you calling someone a “Dick.”?

You are correct that Amon Goeth “let people be murdered.” It was the custom to bring criminals and captured partisans to a camp to be executed. Amon Goeth did not stop these executions, so he was a “war criminal” under the ex-post-facto “common plan” law.

I don’t base all of my claims on what I have found on the web. I also read books, and I have visited the Plaszow Memorial Site where the camp was located. I have also visited the house, from which Goeth allegedly shot Jews from his balcony.

This blog is not for you. You know everything, and your mind is made up. Virtually every other blog in the world agrees with your opinion, so there is no need for you to waste your time reading a blog that presents information that does not agree with your opinion.

I tried to read your posts and not to get angry, but sorry, I can’t. Reading something like: ” It was the custom to bring criminals and captured partisans to a camp to be executed.” For Christs Sake! CRIMINALS? if being a non “Arian” or not a commited Nazi means being a criminal then yes, in all other cases: NO! I am not a Jew, but I’m Polish, and I KNOW the history of my country, my ancestors survived the II WW as well as German Nazi camps, and more than a half of my family died there, or at the hand of the Nazi’s during the war and occupation of my country, and I acctually KNOW what I am talking about, you obviously don’t! HOW DARE YOU?! what is your source of knowledge about those unhuman crimes and about those who did it ?! some other blog written by bored undereducated fanatics? I must dissappoint you- they DID IT- and I don’t mean only Amon Goeth’s shooting from balcony, I mean everyday rapes, beatings to death, shooting, starving people to death and lots of other unspeakable crimes against civillian, innocent men, women cause they were not “Arian” and children below the age of 8 and the elderly cause they couldn’t work efficiently, therefore were not “useful” to the Nazi economy-
and your question “how do we know?” !!! Man, get serious, only in my country there are millions, MILLIONS of eye witnesses to those crimes even though many peole had already passed away, so this is how WE know, and I’m telling you and all the others reading this, Amon Goeth was a sociopath(as we would call him today) he was able to murder brutally without hesitation and then go back and be a sweet loving gentleman to his woman, or make a party for his intellectuall cultured friends because he did not consider killing a Jew (or a Pole, or a Gypsy ) a murder, but a normal activity, no more difficult than killing a rat, in the service of “purifying” the world from other “races” than “Arian”. There were hundreds of widnesses, but he was tried on a different, new law, JUST to unite all those crimes, to condemn the Nazi ideology, therefore he was tried this way, not under normal court as a “ordinary” killer would be, don’t you understand that the crimes of the Nazi’s were so HORRIFIC, that they had to be put into new, one category, it WAS crutial that the crimes were caused by brain-washing Nazi ideology and aimed at ANNIhilationa of whole human ethnicities…it WAS crutial and had to be marked and outspoken, LOUD.
And about his mistress: she never left him(as hundrets of lovers of many criminals, not only those of WW II) What makes you think she was an angel btw?? Are you, like 12 or what? Really.
1. It was occupied country, Nazi soldiers killed, at least in Poland, could happen everyday, everywhere, she was used to it, obviously.
2. Many German(or Austrian, or Germanic, better to say) women acctually believed in the Nazi propaganda, ergo, they did not consider Jews or Slavic people as human beings.
3. weather she loved him or not, during the difficult times of war, it was extremely comfortable life(materially) a woman could lead beside a high rank German officer-simple as that!
And last: those German officers you list above: it is a LIE! They were never convicted or even put on a trial BEACAUSE of killing Jews, make a research and don’t ever write such nonsense, it makes people who know something about the WW II, and the Nazi’s crimes sick, I don’t even know if I should laugh at the absurdity of this or cry because someone really might belive in it!
If they were arrested, especially in the later years of war, since 1943 when the war with Soviet Russia got hard on Germany, Hitler was extremely demanding of those Officers in Eastern Europe, when they were tried, it was often because of “treason”- meaning any failed order, military action or bad economics. As for the case of camps commanders, it often meant stealing goods and money for themselves, making private bussiness in the occupied countries or being not efficient in their camp production(Yes, the Nazi’s earn a LOT on the camp prisoners, meaning not only their workforce in the nearby factories and mines, their confiscated properties and goods or their personal belongings like jewelry or golden teeth but even their bodies which were used to the point most unhuman, like experimenting on the living-read about “Dr” Mengele- or using the dead, producing soap of their bones and ashes-theese are FACTS, for all of which are still proofs in REAL, printed historical books on the subject or in the memories of the survivors, no matter how many ill-informed ignorant people will question Nazi crimes in the internet).
Now go and look for Credible data. Amon Goeth was a criminal, a killer, and Oscar Schindler was a man with some conscience, means, and courage to do something, anything(and in fact a lot since it is hard to overestimate saving even one life and he saved much more) for doings of both of theese figures(especially on Goeth) there are much more credible data than a book and a hollywood movie, just BASED on history and aimed at only bringing the subject to the wide audience,while details can be changed, the message is not twisted, the meanings are preserved. If you have some brains, take Schindler as an example and do some good in this world instead of brain-washing yourself and others with those absurd theories, so that in years time you didn’t have to look at your writings with pity and regret.

You wrote: “I tried to read your posts and not to get angry, but sorry, I can’t. Reading something like: It was the custom to bring criminals and captured partisans to a camp to be executed.” For Christs Sake! CRIMINALS? if being a non “Arian” or not a commited Nazi means being a criminal then yes, in all other cases”

When I wrote that it was the custom to bring criminals to the camps to be executed, I meant that convicted criminals, who were on “death row” waiting for execution, were brought from the German prisons to be executed at a concentration camp. Some of the convicted criminals were brought to Dachau and Buchenwald to be the subjects of medical experiments. During World War II, criminals in the German prisons, who were not on “death row” were sent to the camps where they were put to work, instead of serving their sentence in a jail cell.

But you MUST realize, that the vast majority of people in the camp Płaszów as well as other Nazi camps were no criminals, where did you get such data? They were mostly civillian Jews of all countries, Poles, Russian soldiers taken prisoners, Gypsies, only later Italian or German unsubordinate sodiers or communists and hardly any criminals, when there were actual criminals they were not kept in those camps as prisoners, but as a labour force, something a kind of additional guards, and that was a Very small percentage of those who died there. Jew, non-Jew anyone could be cougth on a street- for as you don’t seem to realize it was not difficult to be sent to a camp while Nazi occupation in Poland, sometimes it was enough to say something that annoyed a German officer, or to have too dark hair (as dark hair and eyes were according to Nazi theories about Eugenics symptomatic for lower ethnicities- such as Jewish was considered to be), not mentioning ANY act of help toward Jewish people- who were in fact dying on the streets of ghettos of hunger or being just shot on the street or in their homes neighbouring with homes of other Poles, many times neighbours for many years, women, elderly, children, and in case of ANY instance of help, one could be sent to a camp, or later during the occupation, just be executed, immedietaly shoot. In Poland, the official Nazi law stated that in a case of any help towards a Jew the person who helped (it included not only for example, hiding some Jewish person, but also for example having information about someone who did it or trying to smuggle some food to the ghetto) and(!) their whole family is sentenced to death, immediataly, shot, no trial offcourse, children included. Theese are facts, and most traumatizing memories that haunt a great number of Polish people till now, though not many of them are still alive. So please, don’t try to teach me about the history of my country and tell me what happenned in my country, to my ancestors (among many other victims of the Nazi ideology). More to the point: in Nazi camps in Poland there were hardly any criminals, except for those who were running those camps, for them I have no doubt, they were criminals, of the worse kind.